Shop E Store Get quick one-touch access to your HomeKit-enabled smart home devices
Each year, Apple announces a series of new features for its devices during its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, followed by the final releases of each of the respective software versions in September or October.
For Home and Audio at the 2024 event, there were a number of announcements, from Snoopy’s arrival on Apple TV to the possibility of Siri controlling its HomeKit-compatible robot vacuums.
Those features arrived with the release of iOS 18 and iPad OS 18 in early September, but there was something else inside that software that makes it simpler to control your smart home from your iPhone or iPad: greater customization options for the Control Center.
Below, we cover how to edit Control Center on your iPhone or iPad to add quick one-touch access to your favorite Apple Home controls, as well as how to change the control icons on your lock screen to the Home app if you want. you want it. to.
Do the basics: How to set up an Apple Home Hub
what you will need
- Your iPhone or iPad
- The Apple Home App
- iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 software
The short version
- Launch control center on your iPhone or iPad.
- Press and hold to edit Control Center.
- Touch ‘Add a control’.
- Guy ‘Home’ in it Search Controls Bar at the top.
- Choose the Home widget the best for you.
How to Add Home Controls to Control Center on iPhone or iPad
There’s a lot more freedom with Control Center in iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 than before. The latest software not only allows you to add a variety of different controls, like the home controls we’re talking about here, but you can also adjust the size and move between screens.
Music controls get their own page entirely if you swipe up by default, but you can also give home controls their own page.
If you are someone with a variety of Apple HomeKit-compatible devices and want quick and easy access to a particular scene or device, or several, then add the Home widget control or multiple Home widget controls to your Home Center. Control is a simple and easy way. way to access those devices if you don’t want to use Siri or through the main Apple Home app.
Time needed: 10 minutes
- launch control center
The first thing you’ll need to do is launch Control Center on your iPhone or iPad. For most devices, this is done by swiping down from the top right. You’ll then want to hold down when you’re on the Control Center screen to start the editing process.
- Tap Add a control
When you’re on the Control Center editing screen, you’ll see the “Add a Control” button appear at the bottom. Tap that to access the variety of new controls available to add to your Control Center for simpler access.
- Choose the home widget you want
The easiest way to find available Home widgets or controls to add to Control Center is to type “Home” in the search controls bar at the top of the screen. There are three options, the largest of which allows you to add four different devices. The medium option lets you choose a scene or accessory and the smallest option lets you choose to simply open the Home app.
It’s worth noting that you can add any of them multiple times if you want, so you could have an entire page dedicated to controlling your Apple Home devices if you want. When you add the large widget, a Home icon appears in the right bar, indicating that there is a Home page, just as there is a Music page and a Connections page, with a swipe up from Control Center showing you allows you to go from one to another.
- Choose what you want
When you’ve selected your Home Control widgets, you can tap them to choose what you want them to control. You can select a scene you’ve already created, choose ‘Use Recommended’ with the control, and then automatically enter your most used devices, or you can add a new item and select it from your device list.
Once you’ve added the Home controls you want, they’ll appear with a quick swipe down in Control Center for one-touch access.
How to add home controls to your iPhone lock screen
Adding the Home app as a control on your iPhone or iPad’s lock screen is a slightly different process than editing Control Center, but it’s still worth knowing as it can be helpful. You couldn’t change lock screen controls until iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, previously reserved for the Camera app on the right and Torch on the left. However, that’s no longer the case, as there are now many options available for those two buttons, including the Apple Home app, which allows one-touch access.
To add the Apple Home app to your lock screen, touch and hold your lock screen and tap “Personalize.” Then you’ll want to tap the lock screen on the left and get rid of the camera or torch to make room for the Apple Home app. Tap the “+” icon and select Home.
Note: If you want that button to run a specific scene or automation, you can also use Shortcut, add your scene or automation to Shortcut, and then choose it when you select Shortcut as a control to add to your lock screen.
That’s something for another day, because there’s a little more involvement there.
Frequently asked questions
You will need an iPhone XR or later to run iOS 18. The full list includes the following iPhone models:
iPhone SE (2nd generation)
iPhone SE (3rd generation)
iPhone XR
iPhone XS
iPhone XS Max
iPhone 11 series
iPhone 12 series
iPhone 13 series
iPhone 14 series
iPhone 15 series
iPhone 16 series
The following iPad models are compatible with iPadOS 18:
iPad Pro (M4)
12.9-inch iPad Pro (3rd generation and later)
iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation and later)
iPad Air (M2)
iPad Air (3rd generation and later)
iPad (7th generation and later)
iPad mini (5th generation and later)
